Amtrak Siemens Charger locomotive (SC44, ALC42, ALC42E) (2015 - 1Q 2024)

[DSS&A]

Charger at 70mph leading a Hiawatha leaving Chicago (photo taken from my 70mph commuter train).

 

[Pere Flyer]

Man, I cannot get enough of that “Amtrak Midwest” livery. Looks sleek and classy and makes me proud to be a Midwesterner.

 

[cpotisch]

Man, I cannot get enough of that “Amtrak Midwest” livery. Looks sleek and classy and makes me proud to be a Midwesterner.

I like the livery, but I don't love the Charger itself. My main quips are the (seemingly) tiny windows, and the fact that the front suddenly drops away and recedes a bit. If it didn't look like the front end had gone through a mandoline, I'd be all for it.

 

[Agent]

Video by MichaelLovesTrains from June 8 of three Chargers on a test run to San Diego. Test train clips begin at 3:00.

 

[jis]

My favorite Charger livery ...

 

[cpotisch]

My favorite Charger livery ...

I'm personally not too in love with the Brightline livery (though it's grown on me a bit), but I absolutely love the shape of the SCB-40. Sleek and simple - it reminds me of the Thalys and Eurostar locomotives.

 

[frequentflyer]

My favorite Charger livery ...

I'm personally not too in love with the Brightline livery (though it's grown on me a bit), but I absolutely love the shape of the SCB-40. Sleek and simple - it reminds me of the Thalys and Eurostar locomotives.

Would look lovely in Phase 3 livery. Its a shame that nose wouldn't make it a month out on Amtrak's system.

 

[cpotisch]

My favorite Charger livery ...

I'm personally not too in love with the Brightline livery (though it's grown on me a bit), but I absolutely love the shape of the SCB-40. Sleek and simple - it reminds me of the Thalys and Eurostar locomotives.

Would look lovely in Phase 3 livery. Its a shame that nose wouldn't make it a month out on Amtrak's system.

It's also about 400 horsepower less powerful than the SC-44, which wouldn't be ideal for hauling 10+ car bi-level trains.

 

[jis]

That 400HP derating specified by Brightline was to reduce cost of maintenance and extend engine life. It makes sense for them since they intend to use two units with 10 car single level trains.

 

[west point]

Brightline does need that extra HP on an essentially flat track. Wonder if the HP can be temporarily increased in case of one loco failing ?

 

[keelhauled]

Very much doubt that Cummins would let the customer have that kind of control over the ECU.

 

[PerRock]

It's just a aerodynamic bolt on nose. All someone would have to do is unbolt the existing "nose" and bolt on the Brightline one. There's a picture somewhere of one of the Brightline engines being built & it has the same front end as the Amtrak ones.

peter

 

[frequentflyer]

It's just a aerodynamic bolt on nose. All someone would have to do is unbolt the existing "nose" and bolt on the Brightline one. There's a picture somewhere of one of the Brightline engines being built & it has the same front end as the Amtrak ones.

peter

The Genesis had a bolt on nose too so that it could be changed quickly after grade accidents.

 

[jis]

Brightline does need that extra HP on an essentially flat track. Wonder if the HP can be temporarily increased in case of one loco failing ?

It is a short railroad. It would be no problem for a train to complete its trip only slightly behind schedule with a single engine and 400 extra hp won’t make that much of a difference.

 

[cpotisch]

Brightline does need that extra HP on an essentially flat track. Wonder if the HP can be temporarily increased in case of one loco failing ?

I feel like an extra 400 hp wouldn't make much difference, especially since it's only pulling 10 single level cars, on a 1 hour 15 minute (eventually 3 hour) route. It runs a little slower, gets to the end of the line, and has the engine fixed/replaced.

EDIT: Just saw jis's post. I guess great minds think alike.

 

[bcanedy]

Does the connection between the Brightline Chargers and passenger cars use a conventional coupler or is it a drawbar making it more time consuming to disconnect?

 

[jis]

Their intention is to keep the consists together when they are out on the road, and make any changes, including loco substitution, only at maintenance facilities, except I guess when things like derailment or collision recovery is involved.

 

[chrsjrcj]

Does the connection between the Brightline Chargers and passenger cars use a conventional coupler or is it a drawbar making it more time consuming to disconnect?

It's the same as between the passenger cars.

The only standard coupler is on the front of the loco, hidden behind the nosecone.

 

[frequentflyer]

Does the connection between the Brightline Chargers and passenger cars use a conventional coupler or is it a drawbar making it more time consuming to disconnect?

It's the same as between the passenger cars.

The only standard coupler is on the front of the loco, hidden behind the nosecone.

What proprietary couple does Siemens have and why? What are its advantages?

 

[chrsjrcj]

Brightline went with the semi-permanent sets, not Siemens.

Why Brightline did it? I don't know. But for what it's worth, their Chief Mechanical Officer (Tom Rutkowski) worked on the Acela at one point. That might have played a roll.

Aren't a couple of the new single level cars for California semi-permanently coupled too?

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Brightline went with the semi-permanent sets, not Siemens.

Why Brightline did it? I don't know. But for what it's worth, their Chief Mechanical Officer (Tom Rutkowski) worked on the Acela at one point. That might have played a roll.

Aren't a couple of the new single level cars for California semi-permanently coupled too?

I don't know the specifications of the California cars, but the Midwest ones are set up so that certain cars are permanently attached to each other.

 

[chrsjrcj]

Ok, maybe it was the Midwest cars. Could not remember off the top of my head.

 

[Eric S]

IIRC, (many? all? of) the Midwest cars are essentially married pairs, like many rapid transit cars, while the California cars are semi-permanently coupled (6 or 7 car?) trainsets.

 

[chrsjrcj]

IIRC, (many? all? of) the Midwest cars are essentially married pairs, like many rapid transit cars, while the California cars are semi-permanently coupled (6 or 7 car?) trainsets.

Right. I found the PowerPoint presentation http://www.highspeed-rail.org/Documents/NGEC_annual%20meeting%202018_CALIDOT%20presentation.pptx that shows it.

So I guess both are getting semi-permanently coupled cars, in some capacity.

 

[cirdan]

Their intention is to keep the consists together when they are out on the road, and make any changes, including loco substitution, only at maintenance facilities, except I guess when things like derailment or collision recovery is involved.

How would that work in practice?

Would rescue / wrecking crews be instructed in how to unbolt the permanent couplers?

Or is there even some trick for an easy release?

Or would they just saw them through and let the workshop guys work out how to take it from there?

At one railroad museum where I volunteered a long long time ago, we were rescuing a steam loco from another museum who had dumped it outseide and basicalyl let it rot.

We had a contractor in to lift the engine with a crane or place it on a flatbed truck.

Unfortuantely, they were in a hurry, and rather than consult with the museum guys on how best to separate the tender, they just cut through the drawbar without asking, causing a lot of unnecessary damage.